


A Bit of Holiday Cheer

by hermionemalfoy79



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Hogwarts Eighth Year
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-18
Updated: 2018-04-18
Packaged: 2019-04-24 12:51:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14355906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hermionemalfoy79/pseuds/hermionemalfoy79
Summary: Hermione thinks that Draco needs a little fun and some cheering up. A Dramione Holiday one shot.





	A Bit of Holiday Cheer

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter, names, and places are copyright JK Rowling. No profit is being made from this fanfiction.

 **Pairing:** Draco/Hermione

 **Summary:** Hermione thinks that Draco needs a little fun and some cheering up. A Dramione Holiday one shot.

 **Setting:** After the war, Hermione and Draco are among a small group of students repeating their seventh year. Set in seventh/eight year during the Christmas holidays at Hogwarts.

**x-x-x-x-x**

**A Bit of Holiday Cheer**

_December 1999_

_~ The Christmas Holidays ~_

The first Christmas after the Final Battle had passed just a few days ago. Hermione had gone to spend some time at the Burrow, but had Apparated back to Hogsmeade and walked the rest of the way from there to Hogwarts, so that Professor Flitwick could open the gates for her. She had gone to the Burrow because she had not been able to locate her parents previously in Australia and wouldn't have the chance until the upcoming summer when she finished her final year. She regretted not going to find them, but at the same time, she didn't feel ready to confront them yet either. She only hoped that they were safe and happy, where ever they were right now and she would need time to find them because they could be anywhere.

The Burrow had been very gloomy now that Fred was gone, as she expected, but it made the first Christmas without him especially hard on the Weasleys. Dinner had been a bit awkward and gifts were exchanged only half-heartedly. It had been hard to talk to Molly while she was still mourning her son, as Hermione had expected she would. Arthur had mostly stayed out in his shed to tinker around with his Muggle items and Hermione had only spoken to him a few times, as he had tried to be pleasant for everyone. George hadn't been heard from, Charlie hadn't come home this year, Bill and Fleur had gone to visit her family in France, Percy had a new fiance he was spending his time with, and Harry had taken Ginny away to a ski resort in Switzerland to get away from everything.

The only company Hermione had been left with was Ron and Lavender, who he had reunited with after he and Hermione decided not to date while she was back at Hogwarts. While it had shocked her to hear the news at the start of the school year, she found that it didn't really bother now that she's adjusted to it and concluded her thoughts on her former feelings for him. She had moved on from a romance that would have failed anyway and could have possibly ruined their friendship; something that was very important to them both and not worth losing. But the company had been miserable for her, so she had sent an owl to the Headmistress McGonagall to ask for permission to return early during the holiday with the remaining ten or so students who had remained behind. She would have preferred studying and working on that big project that had been assigned for her Ancient Runes class than the atmosphere at the Burrow.

If Ron and Lavender had been annoying during sixth year, they were even worse now. Lavender hadn't come out completely unscathed from Fenrir Greyback's attack during the Final Battle, similar to the way Bill had been. The young witch had a nasty scar on her shoulder, a craving for rare meat and her appearance slightly changed. Her blonde hair was longer now with bits of silver highlights. Hermione was pretty sure that the other witch had growled and snarled a bit at her when she had gotten too close to her _Ron-Ron_. Hermione had inwardly joked to herself that it must have been some sort of animal attraction. The weasel and the half-werewolf? If Malfoy caught wind of _that_ one...

Speaking of Draco Malfoy, Hermione noticed that he had stayed behind for the holidays as well. She glanced up from the table she was currently sitting at in the library and saw that he was slumped forward, asleep at the table he occupied several rows away from her. She hadn't really spoken a lot to him since the start of the year since he had been rather quiet and unusually polite towards her.

She had been partnered up with him a couple of times during Potions and a few other classes that she took that were N.E.W.T level. As a Prefect (sadly, she had missed her opportunity to become Head Girl), she had had to break up a couple of fights that students of other houses and even his fellow Slytherins had started with him. To her wonder, he hadn't bothered to fight back or say anything and he never started the fights himself. It was as though he thought he deserved whatever punishment they dished out at him. Because of his and his family's involvement with Voldemort, he had become an outcast when he returned. He was the lone Slytherin of his year, except Pansy Parkinson, but she didn't even so much as glance at him anymore. Hermione knew he was all alone, both in his dorm and it was also a known fact that his parents had left the country after their trials.

For some reason, Hermione had felt some compassion for him, knowing his story that Harry had told her and Ron. She put away the parchments of her project she was working on for Ancient Runes and got up, stopping at his table on the way by. She gazed down at him, noticing the changes in his appearance. He looked tired and wary.

Hermione glanced around and saw that the library was empty before moving closer to him. Without thinking, she gently brushed aside some fringe that had fallen over his closed eyes. His hair was surprisingly silky when he left it natural without slicking it back. She smiled slightly at how innocent he looked when he slept. Who would have thought?

It was a bit chilly in the empty library, so she quietly picked up his cloak that was draped over the chair next to him and gently placed it over his shoulders. She quickly moved away when he stirred a bit. She was surprised by her actions and quickly sneaked out before he woke, glancing back at him once on the way out.

**x-x-x-x-x**

The next evening, Hermione was outside doing some Prefect rounds for the Headmistress. She looked up at the snow that was lightly falling from the dark sky. Hogwarts was always beautiful this time of year, especially now while there was hardly anyone there to disturb the snowy grounds. She cast a warming charm on her cloak as she hurried along; she wanted to get back to studying soon. It was getting closer to the curfew hour and she had to make sure no students were out.

She stopped when she saw a trail of foot prints in the snow. "Looks like someone decided to come outside," she muttered to herself. They definitely weren't Hagrid's foot steps.

Following them, she found that the trail led down to the lake. Her eyebrow furrowed; it was far too cold for any students to go down there by the water. She cast a spell so that the snow wouldn't crunch under her feet. When she got near the lake's edge, she saw a tall figure in the distance. As she got closer, she saw the familiar white-blond hair of Malfoy. Hiding behind a tree, she studied him.

Draco stood there, gazing out over the dark lake as the wind lightly ruffled his cloak and hair. Hermione noticed that he looked rather unfocused and depressed.

 _'No one should feel this way during the holidays,'_ she thought to herself, remembering the sad time with the Weasleys and how she couldn't really get through to them. With a sigh, she wondered what she could do. Or what she _should_ even bother to do with Malfoy. She grinned when an idea came to her and bending down, she scooped up some snow.

Draco whipped around in shock when he felt something cold and hard hit his back. He narrowed his eyes and scanned the area, missing the bushy hair that ducked behind a tree trunk.

The only sound Hermione heard was her breathing and the sound of the wind whistling through the branches. When she saw him turn and start back towards the castle, she threw two more snowballs which one missed and the other hit his arm.

"Who ever is out there, you had better show yourself!" he warned, placing a hand on his wand that was in his cloak pocket.

Hermione giggled, not scared of his threat at all. Smiling sheepishly, she stepped out from behind the tree and revealed herself. "You're no fun, Mafoy."

"Granger," he said firmly. "What the _hell_ are you doing?"

Hermione shrugged lightly. "You looked miserable out here. I thought maybe you could use some fun. You _do_ know what fun is, right?"

"I don't exactly consider getting hit with snowballs _fun,_ " he sneered.

"Well, nevertheless you looked lonely out here."

"I assure you that I'm not," he sharply replied.

"Oh, come now, Malfoy," she said as she stepped forward. "You're the lone Slytherin here. It must be lonely..."

"I could say the same for you as a Gryffindor."

"I chose to come back so I could study an work on that Ancient Runes project," she didn't know why she was explaining herself to him.

"I've been working on that, too," he quietly replied.

"How far along are you with it?"

"Far enough. Not that it's any of _your_ business."

Hermione huffed and placed her hands on her hips. "Somehow I don't believe you."

"And why is that?" he raised a brow.

"I know for a fact that you're pretty far behind on your studies. You're usually right behind me in the classes we share, but lately you haven't been."

Draco's eyes narrowed. "I've been busy."

"Yeah, probably avoiding the other Slytherins," she said lowly, but he heard her.

He turned to leave, but not before he titled his head and narrowed his eyes at her. "Don't talk about things you don't understand, Granger."

 _"Oh, please,"_ she scoffed and followed after him. "I think I have a pretty good idea of what they think of you, Malfoy. They don't make it a secret, that's for sure."

"Why are you even talking to me?" he asked in a bored tone, and she knew he was changing the topic.

"I'm not sure, really," she replied honestly. "It must just be the holiday spirit."

"Christmas is over," he stated.

"It's still considered the holidays until school resumes," she replied matter-of-factly.

"Don't you have something better to do?" he was sounding annoyed.

"You look like you could use someone to talk to," she said.

"I'm not a charity case, Granger. Like that SPEW thing of yours."

"It's S.P.E.W. And I didn't say that you were," she said, reaching to gather up more snow while he walked on ahead. "You need to lighten up a bit, Malfoy!" she called to him and threw another snowball, that hit him in his shoulder.

Draco growled and turned back at her, glaring. She giggled and started to run. Draco was shocked as he watched her run passed him to hide behind a tree. He recognized the look of a girl who wanted to be chased when she peeked out at him. He narrowed his eyes again and reached down to gather up snow. She ducked behind the tree branch as a snowball came flying at her. She laughed and went to go around the tree, but was shocked when she hit something hard, and stumbled backwards on to her bottom.

She glared when she looked up at him and saw him smirking down at her, lightly tossing a snowball up and down in his hand. She didn't get a chance to move when he began pelting her with snowballs that had multiplied with magic.

"Hey!" she cried. "Malfoy!"

"You started it!" he said and gathered up more snow and flinging it at her.

"But you're cheating!" she cried when the snow hit her in the face.

Her nose twitched and she scrambled to get up. She lunged at him, throwing all her weight to knock him over when he didn't expect it. She landed on top of him with a grunt, quickly rolling off of him to scramble away. He grabbed her ankle, causing her to fall face first in the snow. She kicked at him, but he held on to both of her ankles, pulling her closer and piling snow on her with a simple wandless spell.

She was startled when she heard his deep, rich laughter. Sputtering, she stood up and stared at him with wide eyes.

"What?" he asked when his laughter finally ceased.

"You...were actually being _fun_ , Malfoy," she said surprised. "I actually just had fun right now. And you _laughed_!"

"I laugh all the time," he said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, but it's usually sarcastic! This time you laughed like you were having a genuinely good time!"

Draco blinked and thought about what she had just said. He did indeed have fun and momentarily forgot about his problems. "I..."

She gave a small smile and then fell back onto some untouched snow. Draco watched as she moved her arms and legs.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm making a snow angel," she said.

"A what?"

"You'll see," she said when she finished and reached out a hand to him.

He eyed her hand in confusion for a moment and took hold of just as she was about to pull back. He effortlessly pulled her to her feet and she stood beside him, looking down at the shape in the snow.

"It's called a snow angel," she explained again. "See? Your arms make it look like wings and your legs make it look like a dress or robe."

"Right," he said, raising a brow. "It looks weird to me."

Hermione gazed down at it sadly. "My mum taught me when I was a little girl."

"Now _you_ sound depressed."

Hermione shook her head. "I just miss my parents."

"Why not go home then? You don't _really_ need to be here."

Hermione shook her head. "It's not that simple. I..."

"You what?"

"Never mind," she muttered and turned away from him.

"You started saying something so finish it."

Hermione looked up from the form in the snow to him. He was gazing down at her, looking a bit curious. "I'll tell you, if you tell me why you stayed here instead of seeing your parents."

"I thought it was a well known fact that my parents left the country," he bitterly replied.

"Well...couldn't you have gone with them for the holidays?"

"It's not that simple," he said, using her words from earlier.

"Malfoy..."

"Shut up, Granger," he said as he started back towards the castle.

She quickly followed after him. She could see it in his features that he _wanted_ to talk to someone about it. She decided to be that someone he could talk to and in exchange she would tell him. "I currently don't know where my parents are," she said and noticed that he faltered in his steps. "All I know is that they are in Australia somewhere, or they could have moved on I suppose...after all, they have no attachments here. You see, I changed their memories and made them forget me the summer after sixth year to protect them."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you're alone here with me and you have no choice but to listen."

Draco rolled his eyes. "If you think that I'm going to open up to you just because-"

"Malfoy," she interrupted him. "I know we were _far_ from friends since we first met. However, I noticed that you've changed a lot since the end of the war, in a good way, of course. I like to think that as the only returning Gryffindor and Slytherin of our year, we have more in common than we might think."

"Parkinson also returned."

Hermione scoffed. "She hardly counts. All she does is give you the stink eye unless she's avoiding looking at you all together."

"What's a stink eye?" he raised a brow in question.

"Normally it's referred to as a dirty look," she answered. "I daresay if she's not careful, her face may just stay that way if she keeps it up."

Draco chuckled. "Perhaps it would be an improvement," he smirked back at her.

"Maybe so," she laughed then looked at him serious. "But really, Malfoy. I know we don't really talk or anything, but you've been nothing but civil towards me this year and I think that counts for something. I'm here to talk; you can trust me. I think you probably know that."

Draco didn't reply but instead continued as they got closer to the castle. Finally, he spoke up. "I don't know where my parents are either. They could be in several places around the world. Merlin knows they own enough properties and they could hide anywhere they wanted. They must be living the good life, leaving me here and completely forgetting about me."

"I doubt that they _forgot_ about you," she said softly. "No parent could truly forget their child. Unless you've done what I've done..."

He stopped and she would have almost bumped into him if she hadn't looked up. "What you did for your parents to protect them is very, well, brave..." he said quietly. "I'm not sure I could have done the same."

Hermione placed a hand on his shoulder. "From what Harry said, I have deduced that you were brave in your own way, Malfoy."

"What to you mean?" he asked, turning to her.

"You did what you had to do to protect your family," she explained. "And backing out at the last minute, well, some might think of you as a coward for it. Others may see that as bravery; defying something you were set out to do by Voldemort because you knew in your heart you _couldn't_ do it. At least, that's what I believe. Besides, I think you're very brave to come back here this year and move forward and try to make positive changes for yourself, despite what others say and do to you."

"How could I have been brave?" he scoffed. "It's not bred in me."

"You can be surprised what we're capable of. You just need to believe in yourself a little more,"she smiled. Before he got the chance to reply or she realized what she was doing, she reached up and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "I had fun with you just now, Draco. Enjoy the rest of the holidays. You can find me in the library if you want to work on that project together."

He raised a hand to his cheek where her soft lips had been, staring after her in shock as she walked ahead of him and quickened her pace towards the castle. Her heart pounded, not believing what she just said and done.

**x-x-x-x-x**

A couple of days later, Hermione was sitting in the library, working on her project while lost in her thoughts. She hadn't seen Draco since that night when they had played in the snow and opened up to each other. She still couldn't believe what she had done and prepared herself for his taunts and insults that were sure to come from it.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she jumped when the chair in front of her scraped against the floor. Looking up, her eyes widened when she saw Draco standing there with his satchel and books.

"Does the offer for working on the project together still stand?" he asked.

Still feeling a little dumbfounded, she nodded. She watched as he sat in front of her, organizing his own research that he had done. When he glanced up at her, she smiled. To her surprise, he smiled back.

**x-x-x-x-x**

**Author's Note:**

> _I originally posted this on fanfiction.net December 8, 2011_
> 
>  
> 
>  **Author's Note:** This is the first of my holiday Dramione fics. I really love the holidays and Dramione is especially fun to write, so I have some fics more planned that I hope will be enjoyed :)


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